Centrifugal ore-separator



(N0 Mudel.)

S. D. SMITH.

OENTRIPUGAL ORE SEPARATOR.

No. 431,858. Patented July 8, 1890.

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STEPHEN DECATUR SMITH, OF ORLANDO, FLORIDA.

CENTRIFUGAL ORE-SEPARATORQ SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 431,858, dated July 8, 1890.

Application filed November 26, 1888. Serial No. 291.927. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, STEPHEN DECATUR SMITH, of Orlando, in the county of Orange and State of Florida, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Amalgamators and Ore-Separators, of which the following is a specification.

The object of myinvention is to provide a centrifugal ore-separator which, from the simplicity of its construction and the ease and cheapness of operation, will greatly facilitate the extraction of the precious and other metals. It may be used, first, as a substitute for the copper plates in use in the ordinary gold stanip'mills to separate the gold from the pulp or gangue after the ore has been crushed; second, to extract the gold or other precious metals from the tailings that have already passed over the plates of a stamp-mill or through a pulverizer; third, as a substitute for sluices, rockers, and the common methods of separating gold from sand, earth, or gravel in placer mining; fourth, as a prospectingpan to test the presence of the precious metals; fifth, for separating other metals than gold and silver.

Theinvention will first be described in connection with the drawings, and then pointed out in the claim.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a vertical crossscction of my oreseparator, and Figs. 2 and 3 detail perspective views.

In the drawings, A represents a circular plate with the flange B at right angles thereto and having an inward extension O to form a trough. The trough A B O is secured centrall y upon a shaft F, both inclined as shown in Fig. l of the drawings, and is held thereto on its radial arms K by screwin up the clamps II on the threaded ends of the arms and then screwing up the jam-nuts E. The shaft F is connected by the bcvel-wheelsG I with a drive-shaft L, which may be rotated by any power acting upon the pulley J or crank M.

N is a shoe connected by a bow-spring O with a supply-spout P.

The operation of this centrifugal ore-separator is as follows: If it is to be used in place of the copper plates in an ordinary gold stampmill, the circular beaded plate is made of copper and treated with mercury, as are the ordinary plates, though for placer mining the plate could be constructed of sheet-iron. The plate is put in motion and the pulp gangue or sediment turned on through the chute. In the ordinary plate the pulp or gangue passes over it but once as it flows downward. In this invention, owing to the rapid revolution of the circular plate, the plate is made to pass under the gangue many times, thus increasing by many fold the chances of securing the gold. Further, the chute is made to deliverits contents into the beaded perimeter of the plate in a direction opposite to that of the revolving plate and with such a velocity as to overcome the centrifugal force of the gangue or sand without overcoming the centrifugal force of the gold and mercury, thus separating the gangue from the gold and mercury and leaving the two in contact, while the gangue, owing to the angle at which the chute discharges the material into the involuted perimeter, is thrown out of said perimeter toward the center of the plate, where it passes on down and over the edge or rim of the plate. The machinery of the mill could be used to revolve the plate; but in case of placer mining the wheel could be run by water'power, steam, or hand-power, as is most convenient. In case the requisite fall of water could not be obtained that would be sufficient to overcome the centrifugal force of the pulp tailings, sand, or other material containing the gold and throw it out of the beaded perimeter of the plate toward the center of the plate,and thus prevent the packingof the sediment in the contin uous trough beaded upon the perimeter, then the wedge-shaped shoe or plow could be attached to the end of the chute, and by so adjusting it as to make it operate within the beaded perimeter of the plate near its bottom itwould thus accomplish the purpose of preventing the packing of the sediment and throw it toward thecenter of the plate; but as a sufficient fall of water can usually be obtained, and only such a fall would be required as would overcome the centrifugal force of the sediment or sand or other material coi'itaining the gold, the packing of such sediment could readily be prevented by the force of the falling water from the chute without the Wedgeshaped shoe. The centrifugal force of the crushed quartz or sand may be regulated by the revolution of the plate, and thus be adapted to the fall of water; or, vice versa, the fall of the water may be adapted to the centrifugal force produced by revolving the plate at a certain velocity.

The operations of this invention are I100 confined to the separation of gold from the crushed gangue, sand, or gravel or other material that contains it, but can be used with equal success for separating silver, lead,copper, or other metals from the materials of less specific gravity that contain such metals. To accomplish such work, the circular beaded plate may be made of sheet-iron or other more durable metal than copper and of any size desired.

The special object of the shoe N is to prevent the sand or sediment from packing in the involuted perimeter B O by forcing it i11- ward, so that it will be Washed over the lowest part of the pan.

necessary, as the liquid from the feed-spout will often be sufficient to prevent the sand i In many cases it is not from accumulating in the higher parts of the involuted rim.

I am aware that a centrifugal ore-separating pan arranged obliquely to a horizontal plane and there rotated by suitable mechanism is fully described in Patent No. 9,741, granted toH. Berdan on the 24th of May, 1853; also, that a scraper has been used in ore-crushing mills and is fullydescribed in Patent No. 44,267, granted on the 13th of September, 1864, to A. WV. Hall; but

What I claim as new, and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is

The combination, with the pan-base A and the central shaft- F, by which it is revolved, of the radial arms with threaded ends D, the screw-clamps H, Workingon' said ends, and the nuts E. i p STEPHEN DECATUR SMITH.

\Vitnesses:

N. L. MILLS, F. A. EATON. 

